


page of wands

by phloridas



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Birthday, HUGE congratulations to anyone who donated or even just shared the birthday drive!, M/M, happy birthday phil!, i'm still so proud of how much we raised it really is incredible, phandom gives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-12 20:58:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,765
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13555455
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/phloridas/pseuds/phloridas
Summary: Oftentimes, the Page of Wands is a messenger, bringing you inspiring or unexpected news, new information or a welcome surprise. It may be a new opportunity for you to ‘change the world’. His news is positive and welcomed because it is associated with change and creation.Thirty was about Phil.Thirty-one is about everyone else.





	page of wands

**Author's Note:**

> Huge thanks to the lovely Rose @moon-boye for looking this over and putting up with my sleep deprived writing! :D

**TWITTER:**

_Make a Wish UK mentioned you in a tweet._

We'd like to say a huge thank you to all the @AmazingPhil fans who have donated towards this! Your donations will help us to grant even more life-changing wishes for seriously ill children #WishMakers

Wait. _What?_

Phil shakes his head, snot bouncing around everywhere and giving him a right headache. He has to rub his eyes and grab his glasses to be sure this isn’t some cold-induced hallucination. His viewers...raising money...in _his_ name?

It’s too much for a Thursday morning.

Eyes fluttering to something resembling awakeness, Phil taps on the tweet quoted by the charity. It’s from the handle @PhandomGives, its icon a colourful doodle of some cat whiskers inside a white heart, held up by a pair of blue hands. A smile tugs at Phil’s lips.

No way. There’s no way his subscribers could have raised a _thousand_ pounds for these kids...right?

He clicks the link and his phone whizzes him to a JustGiving page where, sure enough, “Phil Lester’s birthday” greets him in large black letters. And right in front of his face…

Yep. That’s over a thousand quid right there. All in his name.

“Dan. Dan Dan Dan. _Dan!_ ” Phil’s voice is nothing more than a whisper scratching against swollen vocal cords. He grips both Dan’s shoulders. Maybe the cool metal of his phone can shake off the final wisps of whatever he’s dreaming about.  “Babe, you’ve gotta see this.”

He gets something between a whimper and a groan in response, which only  prompts Phil to curl himself deeper into his boyfriend. It takes a single poke of Dan’s cheek for Phil to catch squinty brown eyes with his own. Phil can’t help grinning before he shoves his phone a bit too close to Dan’s eyes, if that glare is anything to go by.

(What can he say? This is the biggest thing since the resurgence of the panda population. Maybe even bigger than the day they find that perfect corgi.)

The broken gasp he’s met with almost wipes that grin clear off his face, though, until Dan turns to Phil with big doe eyes.

“People...our viewers...did _this?_ All in your name, Phil?”

Well, fuck. Now there’s tears pinching at the edges of his own vision. There’s a feathery warmth too, though, that only grows as Dan pulls Phil into him and nuzzles his head in Phil’s shoulder. They stay like this for a while, even as Phil pulls in a huge sniffle and he can  _feel_ Dan’s eyes rolling into his bare back.

Dan finally pulls away with a “You know we’ve gotta do our part too. We can’t leave something this huge alone.”

Phil knows. And deep in his heart, he knows there’s no way he’d rather spread the birthday cheer.

 

—

This generosity is almost pushed from his mind entirely by the flurry of tour prep that leaves both boys crawling into bed soon after meager dinners.

That is, until a certain email flutters into his inbox a week later.

God, 2008 Phil was an _idiot_. But who’s to say 2018 Phil is that much better?

He calls Dan into the lounge, and they share a giggle at a Phil on the brink of 21, oblivious to the existence of the blushing boy who back then, had hardly dared to let Phil permeate his thoughts. It’s what Dan says on the heels of a laugh that plants the wiggling grain of an idea in Phil’s mind, however.

“I just can’t stop thinking about how different our life is now, you know? We’ve got millions of opinions on it, not to mention the power to shape all those lives. It’s...a lot.”

Maybe it is. “But isn’t that pretty incredible too?” Phil enthuses. “We have the power to inspire people, to change lives. We...Dan, I just got the best idea for this video!”

It never is too late--or too early--to change your life around. Phil’s known this for ten years, ever since he threw himself into YouTube, before it meant much more to him than a creative outlet. With a tickle of anticipation deep in his gut, he has no doubts what he wants his subscribers to take from this video.

Maybe it’s weird, this job he and Dan have. And perhaps it’s more than a bit terrifying. But if there’s anything Phil wants for his thirty-first birthday, it’s for even a single person to be inspired enough by this video to make a positive change in their life.

(And maybe a red velvet cake. Because, you know, he really missed that last year.)

 

\--

It’s strange how the simplest moments can take on a new life with the addition of a couple chosen people.

Strange, but also exhilarating.

Phil’s laid out on the couch, his parents in adjoining armchairs on his right, as spicy whiffs of chicken curry and Phil’s favourite naan from the kitchen behind him tickle his nose and dance on his tongue. Netflix is set up on the TV before them, and the gentle clink of plates and glasses curls up against his heart and finds a home there. Phil’s not ready for it to ever leave, truth be told.

It’s been a good birthday. Perhaps not entirely one for the books but is that really necessary anymore? Sure, the cake had brought an explosion of giggles and a furious blush that crops up every time Phil thinks about it, but what he really revels in is _this_.

The quiet moments. The ones that feel normal, like the jigsaw of his life is finally sliding into place. The moments where his dad lazily clicks through the titles and his mum offers her short reviews based on the display photos. And when Dan finally steps into the lounge with their Indian takeaway and a plate topped full of the remaining chocolate gingers, the feeling of wholeness, of family, grips at Phil’s chest and squeezes so tight he just has to wrap his arms around Dan and kiss the fluffiest of his curls.

Because fuck it, he’s thirty-one and if his boyfriend can serve his parents a cake with a clear innuendo, he can damn well kiss said boyfriend in front of them if he likes.

They soon settle on _Fargo_ (the movie), something Phil never would’ve chosen if he hadn’t enjoyed the show so much, but he’s excited anyway.

“So how is tour planning going for you two?” his mum asks while they wait for the screen to load. “It must be exciting to see all those viewers again, I’m sure.”

“Oh, absolutely--” Phil starts just as Dan says “Yeah, and speaking of those viewers….”. They share a giggle, Phil’s smile only growing deeper when he notices those dimples poking through. The softness behind Dan’s eyes sets off a light in the back of his mind.

“Oh! Dan, should we…”

“Do you want to tell them or should I?”

“You go ahead. It’s better to hear it from you anyway.”

“Really?”

“Yeah it’s fine, go on!”

He knows his parents are eyeing them with cocked eyebrows and barely concealed grins, knows his whispers are making it sound far bigger than it is, but when he finally tears his eyes from Dan’s, he finds his mum tipping back a delicate sip of her wine and his dad setting the remote back on the coffee table. There’s no denying the teeny sparkle in his mum’s eyes though.

“Um, actually, speaking of those viewers,” Dan starts again, a bit louder and with an extra note of pride woven through his words, “they did a pretty amazing thing recently. They...set up a charity drive for Make a Wish UK for Phil’s birthday and raised...do you know how much they raised, babe?”

Phil’s grin threatens to pull his cheeks straight off as he pulls out his phone. “Oh man, I haven’t checked recently. It’s Phandom...Phandom Gives, right?”

“Yeah,” Dan supplies and Phil pulls up the Twitter handle. The lovely shot of them with the corgi and the bright blue balloons injects an extra liquid warmth through Phil’s veins even as his stomach jumps at the anticipation of the final total.

Turns out the drive is still open and has raised...is that…? “Over eight thousand pounds, apparently!”

“Oh, honey, that’s absolutely wonderful! I’m so proud of you!” Kath exclaims, a hand to her chest.

“That is incredible, son,” his dad says in that soft way of his. “Some kids are going to be very very lucky thanks to your fans. Good job, Phil.”

How many nights had Phil laid awake, longing to hear those words, needing to know that drop of pride was meant for him and not Martyn? The effect is unsurpassable.

“Thanks, guys. It really is crazy to me, though, because they did this all themselves? I only just found out about this a few weeks ago. Honestly, though, it’s the best birthday present I’ve ever gotten.”

The words aren’t coming from his brain anymore. They’re coming from his heart, where he feels the love and joy and overwhelming pride for himself and the people he’s inspired along the way frothing and bubbling and spreading all through his veins and across his face.

A tiny sniffle sounds from his mum, so soft Phil’s almost sure he’s imagined it, as the title flashes across the screen and he finds Dan’s hand tapping out a slow rhythm against the couch. It’s a fluid motion, like rain seeping into the ground, the way their fingers interlock and Phil rubs his thumb against Dan’s palm. He sets them on his leg, just visible in the glow of the curved TV, bright before the drawn curtains in the otherwise dark room.

The opening credits give his brain a chance to flit across London, settling somewhere across the city in a building far less sturdy than this one that still feels a bit like home in Phil’s most nostalgic moments.

If thirty was about him, and navigating this new decade of his life, then thirty-one is about everyone else. Everyone who has ever entered Phil’s life, be it through a Twitter reply or a pair of eyes behind a computer screen, or nuzzling their way into his heart and into his side right now. Thirty-one is about making a difference in those people’s lives, about inspiring them to take their lives to the best places they can.

After all, he’s already inspired people to do one really great thing. Who’s to say he can’t change the world?

**Author's Note:**

> Find me on [Twitter](http://twitter.com/phloridas) and [Tumblr](http://phloridas.tumblr.com) @phloridas!
> 
> This fic is meant to be a huge congratulations to everyone who helped raised the over 8000 pounds for Make a Wish UK, or even just spread the word and helped it reach the boys themselves! While the phandom can be a mess sometimes, it's fantastic to know we can all get together and do some good in the world. As of right now, the drive is still going on, so if you'd still like to donate and have the opportunity to, I highly encourage you to do so [here](https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/PhandomGives-Phil31)! And if not, don't forget that your support is already more than enough. <3


End file.
